The people of Zawea city have been hired by al-Qaeda. We will catch them all.

No wise people would attend to this kind of protests.

Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi on Thursday accused residents of Az-Zawiyah, a town west of the capital hit by fierce fighting between his forces and rebels, of being linked to Osama bin Laden.

In what was said to be a live audio feed on state television, Qaddafi also accused the protesters of being on drugs.

This was the embattled leader’s second television appearance since protests broke out against his 41-year-old rule on February 15.

Addressing the older generation, Qaddafi said Al-Qaeda was behind the problems facing Libya, while the youth were on drugs and misbehaving.

“It is obvious now that this issue is run by Al-Qaeda,” he said. “Those armed youngsters, our children, are incited by people who are wanted by America and the Western world.”

The “situation is different from Egypt or Tunisia… Here the authority is in your hands, the people’s hands. You can change authority any way your wish. It’s your call. You are the elderly, the head of the tribes, the professors.”

On Tuesday, in a defiant, sometimes rambling speech on television, Qaddafi vowed to remain in Libya as head of its revolution, saying he would die as a martyr in the land of his ancestors and fight to the “last drop” of his blood.

He ordered the army and police to crush the popular uprising against his iron-fisted four-decade rule that has left hundreds dead.

Residents of Libya’s dissident-held east vowed on Thursday to march on Tripoli to oust the veteran leader.

State news agency Jana said three “terrorists” attacked a security forces post in Az-Zawiyah and slit the throats of three policemen on Thursday, amid reports of heavy fighting in the town.